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Quick Tip: Eat Better By Keeping Healthy Foods Close

Candy left on a desk at work barely lasts to the first coffee break. This curious workplace phenomenon of snacking on the closest food may also help you eat more fresh fruit and vegetables.

Research has shown that people tend to eat more food not only when it’s convenient, but also when it’s visible and nearby. Most of these studies, though, have focused on snack foods and candy.

Researchers from Saint Bonaventure University switched it up by providing fresh fruit and vegetables to college students. Students ate more apple slices when the snacks were nearby and visible, than when they were hidden in a bowl or placed six feet away.

For carrots, though, only proximity affected how much the students ate. The researchers suspect that because apples are sweet, seeing them makes people crave them more, no matter how far away they are.

With only 25 percent of Americans eating the recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables a day, this simple trick could help you eat better today.